Best friends Maxine Aquilina and Angie Amato have set up Jays of Sunshine, a new organisation which will help fulfil children and young people’s dreams at a difficult time.
Both women have shared many a life experience: their friendship, their love for children and, most recently, the loss of both their mothers to cancer.
“Our inspiration comes from our mothers, Jackie and Josette. After we lost them, we felt the need to do something to help others,” say the young women, who replaced ‘rays’ with ‘jays’ as a keepsake of their mothers’ names.
An actress and teacher at Stagecoach Theatre Arts School, Maxine says she volunteered at the Rainbow Ward back in 2009 while working in a nursery. After a change in career, she went abroad to study for a Master’s degree.
“However, I always had a longing feeling to go back to volunteering. After losing my mother, this feeling just continued to grow and I couldn’t ignore it any longer. Angie, being amazing with children, my best friend and the only person, other than my brother and sister, who could relate to the same loss, was naturally the one I turned to, to speak about this dream. She too had been wanting to give back and make a difference…
